Stocker Trout Fishing News

Starting a new fishing series that looks at discount lures and their ability to catch fish. Keeping it simple, the series sets a $2 limit for purchasing the lure and focuses on Bait Finesse Systems fishing aka ultralight bait casting. Regardless, what gear you use, as long as you can cast the $2 lure, you should be able to give them a try fishing them in your area! Do check out the first in the series... Wal-Marts hard bait lure that I call the Crawdad! It will catch a fish or two! Available online at Wal-Mart... Click on picture for more details from Wal-Mart. Else, run to your local Wal-Mart and look for them selling for $2.00... specifically, $1.98 before tax!

On a whim, tied a Muddler Minnow and headed to the local pond with the Vintage Bamboo Fly Rod. After figuring our the pattern - short pauses between short pulls of the line, caught a Bluegill and several Bass! Lots of fun knowing that a fly rod that is older than myself can still be used. I am a little careful when landing fish. But, I do think the rod will land a good size Bass or other similar fish. Let's see if that happens sooner than later! Try tying one, else purchase them from Amazon!

Trout Stocking Season is a few months away in Texas. Here is a Shorts from last season where I am using inline spinners and ultralight spinning gear to limit out! See full video at  COAF Field Team YouTube Channel  

YouTube Shorts of a past fishing trip to Turner Falls Park in Oklahoma. That Season, they stocked trout above the Waterfall which made for interesting fishing as sections of the river were clobbered with brush and trees. Luckily, I found a nice spot that offered excellent access and focused my efforts on finding the pattern. After a number of fishing fly changes and varying retrieves, I noted the trout preferred an Olive Near Deere fished with short pull retrieves and no strike indicator. Also, the trout were readily striking but I missed a few until I began setting the hook as soon as I saw the trout "flash" in the water as it struck the fishing fly. Fun trip, do give it a try. But, do check with the Park as stockings may be delayed or canceled contingent on water conditions.

Tried the Bamboo Fly Rod for some pond fishing. Put a Fenwick Large Arbor fly reel initially, then switched to an old Shakespeare bought from Oshman's Sportimg Goods in the early 80s. Had a Bass on but lost it. Was being careful not to horse the Bass in. Later, caught Bluegill and then ended with a Bass that I did land. So far, liking the Vintage Fishing Series and fishing a fly rod from the past. Do check back for more!

Kayak Fly Fishing is fun! Even better with an OPST Commando Head to make it easier to cast from a sitting position! See full video at https://youtu.be/qnjuabWu4AU Clouser Minnow Pack Left Deceiver Pack

Fifty plus years old Rapala Floating Minnow  still can catch a Bass or two! Round Two of the Vintage Fishing Lure series gets more Bass. Not as big as the Cisco Kid Diver and the 7+ lbs Bass but the Rapala Minnow still rocks in the 21st Century!

Episode 24 in the "Little Red Book of Fly Fishing" podcast series where I review fly fishing tips…. This round it's tips 110 through 113! Tip 110: You Got to Pick a Pocket (or Two) Tip 111: Rock On Tip 112: Pillow Talk Tip 113: Rob the Banks Do check back on our next episode in the series where we discuss tips 114 - 117 . Tip 114: Rosenbauer's Rules Tip 115: Be the Tree Tip 116: Nervous Water Tip 117: Your Fly Rod Cannot See Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Found an old Rapala Floating Minnow lure while antiquing this past weekend. 30+ years old, still catches fish! Worked well with the Bass Pro Shops Microlite Rod and Kastking Zephyr BFS Reel with clicker!

Finally made it out to the local lake for kayak fishing. Opted for jug lines and Catfish fishing. Had to make a few modification to the jug lines per the Texas Fishing Regulations. Also, had to read the new rules for Catfish on Lavon. Different compared to past Season! Do check out the video!

Planned to fish with Bait Finesse gear for Bass and Bluegill. But, the pond was too clobbered with "green stuff" that fouled lures. Switched to fly fishing - Cabelas 2wt Fiberglass Rod and the Caddis Foam Grasshopper. Was a fun time ultralight fly fishing! Cabelas 2WT CGR Fiberglass Rod Orvis Battenkill II Bett's Bream Getter WT Bett's Bream Getter - Blk See more at Cabela's!

Decided to fish Pottsboro Lake in Pottsboro Texas this past Saturday. After a little rain in the morning, made it to the pond just as a cold front rolled in. Cold and windy, did manage three trout. Planned to catch trout using ultralight lures and a BFS Rod/Reel, but trout wanted PowerWorms. Good thing I had the Bubble and Fly Rig handy, just swapped the fishing fly for a PowerWorm. Bite was steady, just kept missing the hookset. Did get a few Bluegill and a Bass on the PowerWorms. Plus got some underwater video of what was lurking in the pond! Do check out the video! Great for Trout, too!

Received a request to post information on how we tie the Olive/Brown Near Deere - the fishing fly we used recently at Murphy City Hall Pond for Rainbow Trout. In reply, we posted a video below that demonstrates how we tie the fishing fly. Do check it out when you get a chance! Other key points: For the fishing fly we tie, it is a variation of the fishing fly that Texas Fishing Forum's Tarpon Fly posted several years ago. He described the pattern and noted its simplicity and effectiveness. When we tie the Olive/Brown Near Deere, we use Olive Marabou for the tail and Brown Flash Chenille for the body. However, the pattern allows for ease of mixing and matching colors with our favorites being Olive Marabou/Olive Flash Chenille and Olive Marabou/White Flash Chenille. It can be fished with or without a strike indicator as well as fished as a tandem rig with a GRHEN, Soft Hackle, or Nymphs. It is a consistent producer of Trout as well as other fish like Bass and Catfish in our are...

Fished Murphy City Hall Pond this evening. Was cold but it was great to get a round of fishing in during the work week! Even better that we managed to limit out on Rainbow Trout. Used the Four Weight Fly Rod and the Olive/Brown Near Deere that worked the other day. Change in the retrieve compared to last time; long pulls and allow time for the fishing fly to sink instead of the faster retrieve we used on Sunday. Only fished for about an hour but it was enough time to catch and keep five, catch and release one more, and miss a lot more due to missed hook sets or thrown hooks. That said, looks like more cold temps and snow are in the forecast which may be a good thing to keep us focused on our day jobs! PS: Pictures of the Olive/Brown Near Deere and Today's Catch as well as Today's Video are posted below!

More tinkering around with Micro Fly Rods. This time making a handle using wine corks. Once done, going to dry fit the Ice Fishing Rod Blank before working on the Rod Guides. Hope this one turns out as good as the Micro Fly Rod I and Micro Fly Rod II.

Made it back to Murphy City Hall Pond before the front arrived. Used an Olive/Brown Near Deere, PowerBait, and a Super Duper to limit out! Fishing Buddy hooked up with three on PowerBait, one on a Black Super Duper, and one on an Olive/Brown Near Deere. I took a limit on the fly with an Olive/Brown Near Deere. Saw others hooking up as well! Not sure what they were using but the Trout were biting! Now it's time to bundle up and prepare for the colder temps and freezing conditions.

Looks like this Saturday should be a fun one for kids participating in Trout Derbies in the Murphy and Denison! For more information, do check out the their websites! Hope the rain does not delay things... cross our fingers! Murphy - Rainbow Round Up Denison - 17th Annual Youth Trout Derby

Fun time in Denison today. Nuclaroche and I fished Waterloo Park Pond. After a lot of missed hook sets to rising trout feeding on little, black bugs, we figured out the pattern - a COAF Griffith's Gnat in Size 16! The Trout started out taking dry flies on a dead drift but as the wind picked up and the insects started "skittering" on the surface more, the Trout were wanting more movement on the dry fly. Fun day, especially being able to catch them on dry flies. Also, had lots of fun casting and catching fish using the COAF Micro Fly Rod !

Late start Saturday for Nuclaroche and I. We planned to fish Frisco Commons for Rainbow Trout that morning but I was sidetracked by work and then some early "Spring" cleaning of the office. By the time all was done, it was late afternoon. Around 4PM, we made it to Frisco and fished till after sunset. Nuclaroche hooked up with one Rainbow Trout using PowerBait. I stuck with different dry flies trying to hook the Trout that were rising on the surface, and then eventually switched to the Micro Fly Rod . A quick check to match the hatch did not help either. I had caught one of the bugs flying around, and then tried several fishing flies that looked like it. No luck! Still had fun catching little Bluegill on the Micro Fly Rod!

It has been a long work week but Friday is here at last. The weekend is looking good for fishing; however, we must do our duty and pledge our everlasting love to our significant others as tomorrow is Valentine's Day. That said, the Trout Derby on the Blue River in Oklahoma has us itching for a run across the border. Unfortunately, we are unable to make it this weekend. We do plan to wet a line, most likely at Frisco Commons Pond which was stocked last weekend with Rainbow Trout. While preparing the fly box, I noticed the Soft Hackles purchased at Beavers Bend Fly Shop last year were looking beat. Guess a fishing fly can only take so much abuse from feisty trout and scrappy bluegill! I decided to tie a few Soft Hackles. After a few "do overs",  I was able to turn out a few that looked "fishable";  hope to try them this weekend. PS: Really glad for the YouTube video - Partridge and Orange Soft Hackle!

After limiting out on Trout, decided to have another go with the Micro Fly Rod. Changed the fly line by using less backing line and more fly line. No knot to hang up on the rod guides, so I was able to get more distance on the cast. Caught two little Bluegill and one Bass on a Soft Hackle at Frisco Commons Pond. Then, took a break to get hydrated again. Sun came out in force today; even think the temps hit above 70 degrees. Much different than last years freezing conditions at this time. Later in the afternoon, fished the Feeder Creek at Bethany Lakes, Soft hackle had a few strikes but no hook ups. Switched to a Red Midge in Size 22 and hooked several soon after. Then, noticed  fish feeding on something on the surface. So, switched to a Size 22 BWO and ended up catching several more. So far, have been pleasantly surprised with the casting capability of the little rod. The cast is different compared to standard size fly rods; the back cast straightens quickly, so the fo...

Fished Frisco Commons Pond today. Limited out but had a tough time catching them on fishing flies. Used the same rig as yesterday - Tandem Rig Near Deere and GRHEN. Managed to catch two that went for the GRHEN. Had a few more missed strikes, else no luck getting another one with the Fly Rod. Switched to a Spinning Rod and PowerBait. Caught three Trout in short order.  Since the day was so nice and calm conditions, decided to try some Micro Fishing as well. Was hoping to catch a Trout using the Micro Fly Rod but the Trout were not going for fishing flies. Luckily a couple of Bluegill and a little Bass were... will post a video of the Micro Fishing action at Frisco Commons and the Feeder Creek at Bethany in another Blog post.  Below is the video of the Trout action today.

Long week but was finally able to go fishing Saturday. Started out "testing" Micro Fly Rod II by doing some Micro Fishing at the Davis Library Pond. Rod worked well! I was able to catch little Bass and Bluegill as well as several larger Bluegill. I do plan to make adjustments to the fly line by using less backing and more fly line. The knot I tend to hang up as it passed through the rod guides. With the adjustment, should be able to see if the little rod can take on some of the Stocker Trout in the area! Afterwards, headed up the road to fish Frisco Commons Pond. The city hosted its Annual Trick-A-Trout Derby that morning, so Trout were freshly stocked in the pond! Windy day, so no chance to try the Micro Fly Rod without the fly line modification. But, was able to limit out with five Trout. Trout went for an Olive and White Near Deere, and then a BH GRHEN fished on a Tandem Rig in conjunction with the Near Deere.

Here is a HubPages article - " COAF Micro Fly Rod "  that details modifications that I made to a Pen Fishing Rod. The end result is a Micro Fly Rod that may be of interest to fishermen who would like to take up Micro Fishing! Do give it a try when you get a chance! Moreover, judging from the sturdiness of the rod, it looks like it can handle larger fish as well!

While surfing the Internet the other day, I found several sites and videos about Micro Fly Rods. The rods were either Pen Fishing Rods with little fly reels or expensive ones that looked really nice. Even more, it looked like both would catch fish. Not wanting to spend a lot of money to "test" this concept, I planned to purchase a Pen Fishing Rod and Fly Reel. I had the Spincasting model but no fly reel. A check of their website indicated orders were not being taken until March. No rush... I could wait until March. Besides the Kiyotaki 18 was working really well for little fish and Stocker Trout which made waiting for March a non-issue. However, while at Academy yesterday, I noticed several Crappie Jigging Reels that looked like miniature Fly Reels. So, I bought one! With a few modifications to the Pen Fishing Rod, fly line, and a leader, I had a prototype to "test"! Below is a video of the field "test" conducted today and pictures of  Mic...

Happy Sunday Readers! It was a lot of fun fishing the Blue yesterday. Today, I had to work the early morning. Luckily, I was able to break away afterwards for a quick trip to Bethany Lakes. Cold and windy conditions put a chill in the air... decided to go with a light weight jacket to stay comfortable. Glad that I did not need the layered clothing like yesterday morning! Using the same Near Deere under a Strike Indicator setup from yesterday, managed to catch five Bass. No Bruisers but was good practice (or more an excuse to go fishing). The Bass were holding in a deeper hole in the Main Pond and were just barely striking the Near Deere. It was almost like they were bumping it instead of striking the fishing fly. Also, every so often would twitch the rod to add a little action, else letting the wind/waves "bob" the Near Deere up and down was enough to trigger a strike. Short trip but lots of fun!

Saturday planned to fish the Trinity River in Fort Worth but late last night decided to head to the Blue River in Oklahoma instead. Got on the road early and arrived at the Blue River - specifically, Hughes Crossing by 7AM. It was a cold morning with frost on the ground and eventually ice on the rod guides. Things started out slow with no strikes by the pool above the Crossing. Headed downriver to the Island and struck out as well. After heading further downriver, caught one Trout on a Near Deere in of the pools. Then, after several more casts without a strike, moved back to the Island. The action picked up there with Trout going for the Near Deere on almost every cast. The action stayed steady for about 45", and then the bite turned off around 9AM. Luckily, had five trout in the creel by that time! After fishing different spots and changing fishing flies often, caught the last Trout to make a limit around 1PM. It also went for the Near Deere; was not as big as th...

Howdy All, It looks like the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) stocked the Trinity River as they stated yesterday. Cold and wet weather but from TRWD's latest report, a few fishermen went for it today! No reports as of yet.

Looks like rain or shine the Tarrant Regional Water District is stocking Rainbow Trout tomorrow at River Park and Trinity Park in Fort Worth. The Team may need to make a run to Fort Worth this weekend for a go at some possible Bruiser Trout!

We decided to head back to Waterloo today for another go at the Rainbow Trout. When we arrived, we noted others hooking up. In short order, our fishing buddy was getting strikes on PowerBait. And, after several missed hook sets, he found his mojo and hooked and landed five trout. Rough night before, he opted for a little "nap" after limiting out rather than watch me miss setting the hook and not catching fish. I was getting strikes using a 4 Weight Fly Rod and a Near Deere under a strike indicator. And, I did have an issue with setting the hook. But, after making adjustments to the strike indicator, I started getting more strikes and eventually hooked and landed two trout. Next, I switched to the Micro Fishing Rod (Kiyotaki 18) that I used to catch little Bass and Bluegill yesterday. I understood the rod could handle little Stocker Trout in the 13" size range. Since Waterloo's stocking largely consisted of 9"-12' Trout, it sounded like a good pl...

Went back out to try the Kiyotaki 18 Rod again. Smaller sized fishing fly made a difference. Caught and released a number of little fish this time. But, I still think smaller hooks are needed to get the smallest fish that struck at the fly. Also, for the fishing fly, used a Red Midge with Antron Wing instead of a Tenkara Fly. The fish were lurking below the undercut bank and waited until the fishing fly was near the bottom. The Red Midge seemed to sink faster than the Tenkara Fly. Fun stuff... posted a picture of one of the little Bluegill and a video clip of the action.

Alrighty, I was able to try the new rod out - Kiyotaki 18. Set it up with 6' fly line, 6' leader, and a Tenkara Fishing Fly. Fished Celebration Park's North Pond briefly but the cold and wind drove me away. Moved on to the feeder creek at Bethany Lakes and was able to catch a little Bass and a little Bluegill. Rod worked out well; next time may try straight monofilament instead of a fly line. Also, may need to go with a smaller hook; had a number of little fish strike but the size 20 hook was too big! Liking the Micro Fishing concept of catching the littlest fish and then taking pictures of different ones. Here is a video clip of this morning's action and two pictures of the little fish caught this round!

A package arrived from TenkaraBum today! It's was the Kiyotaki 18 Rod I ordered. Only two days to deliver; like the fast shipping! Now, gotta try it out! Now I am ready to give Micro Fishing a try; if I could only break away from the "salt mines"! Jump to August 2015... fishing video of the Kiyotaki 18:

Weekend is approaching. No solid plans but I am sure the Team is game for another round of fishing. On another note, I received a tracking number from TenkaraBum for the Micro Fishing Rod I ordered. It looks like it may arrive this weekend! Also, I found a cool tip from TenkaraBum's website for taking pictures of little fish - a Micro Fishing Photo Tank. It comes from the Container Store and is used for storing cotton swabs.... Cool stuff! Micro Fishing Photo Tank

Welcome Readers to Stocker Trout Fishing - a website started in partnership with the COAF Field Team!  The COAF Field Team (aka Field Team) is a group of avid fishermen located in the city of Allen, Texas. They kicked off their effort by starting the City Of Allen Fishing Weblog to document online fishing trips to area community lakes and ponds. The fishing trips later expanded to other lakes (including larger lakes), rivers in Oklahoma and Texas, and the Texas Gulf Coast. For this effort, the Field Team intends to collate information about fishing for stocked Rainbow Trout – specifically, in North Texas with emphasis on local ponds stocked in Collin County. In addition, the Field Team will include fishing reports for trips across the border to Oklahoma's Blue River, Lower Mountain Fork River, and Honey Creek (in Turner Falls Park) as well as fishing trips to the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, Texas. Moreover, the Field Team plans to post information found online that may be use...

Burning the midnight oil this evening, the day job is quickly becoming the all day and night job. Regardless, I am done and have shifted over to more important things... FISHING! And, what better way to shift focus from work to fishing then to mindlessly surf the web for fishing information. Normally, I check out the Texas Fishing Forum, several fishing blogs, and YouTube fishing videos. This time, not sure how but I landed on a website called Micro Fishing. It's a website that is all about catching small minnow-sized fish using "micro-gear". Sounds interesting, so, on a whim, I decided to give it a try. First step, or more an excuse to get another fishing rod, I ordered a Micro Fishing Rod from TenkaraBum's web store. The model I ordered was a Kiyotaki 18. I was not sure about the details of the rod other than it is 6 feet long and can be fished Tenkara style in some instances. Below is a linked picture of the Kiyotaki 18 from TenkaraBum's website.... Ordered, re...

The morning started with rain and cold temperatures. So, we decided to hold on fishing today. And, knowing the work week will be a busy one, it looks like the next chance to go fishing will be next weekend. Until then, I plan to make some time for fly tying - specifically, more Soft Hackle Wet Flies in the traditional and Tenkara patterns. In preparation for this, I broke away from the Cowboys and Packers Football Game to pick up a Partridge Cape/Skin at Cabela's. It looks like I have a enough feathers to make more than a few fishing flies. Afterwards, I made it back in time to watch the remainder of the game; I should have stayed at Cabela's longer... wished the Call Reversal did not happen. Oh well, here is to next Season

Hi Readers! I was working on day job related things - specifically, a spreadsheet deliverable. Knocked it out fairly quickly, and then went back to more important things... like fishing! While looking over the Texas Parks and Wildlife Departments Trout Stocking Schedule dated 1/10/2015, I thought it would be nice to sort the schedule using the Stocking Date as the primary sort. After some data manipulation and a few "workarounds", I was able to come up with something usable. I also was able to save it as a pdf file. So, hopefully Readers can readily access the document. Here is the link to the attachment page below; there is an embedded link on the page that should open the pdf file. Note: TPWD Trout Stocking Schedule - Sorted by Date is no longer available.  Do look for a post in November of the current year and stocking season!

Howdy from Glenn! The Team has opted to use the StockerTroutFishing.com's Weblog to post updates from the field. CityOfAllenFishing.Blogspot.com remains available to Readers; do feel free to navigate the website and its archive! Additionally, I plan to assume the role as Weblog Admin. Kudos to our former Weblog Admin! She volunteered to help us start this website. Outstanding job, and we wish you all the best in Austin as you continue your education at the "other school down the road"! Sincerely, Glenn and the Field Team

Picked up a new fly reel. It's a Ross Flystart 2. Looking really nice with the 8' Redington Fly Rod picked up late last year. Too bad the cold temps has delayed fishing for the next few days. Oh well, this Blogger is staying bundled up indoors and is happy to receive reports from diehards braving the below freezing temperatures!

Fifty plus years old Rapala Floating Minnow  still can catch a Bass or two! Round Two of the Vintage Fishing Lure series gets more Bass. Not as big as the Cisco Kid Diver and the 7+ lbs Bass but the Rapala Minnow still rocks in the 21st Century! Quick trip to Lake Glenn gets several Bass on the vintage Rapala lure I picked up at an antique store in Denison, Texas. Working it on a jerky retrieve, the Bass were readily striking. I did notice the Bass were tending to the North and East sides of the Lake. I suspect it was due to the clobbered areas along the South and West sides. Lots of hydrilla like greenery has much of the area fouled. No worries though... Bass were scrappy with one going about 15 inches in length!

Round One of the Vintage Lures Series kicks of the series with an estimated 7+ lbs Bass measuring 23 inches in length. Fishing a Bait Finesse Systems combo and a $2 vintage lure - Cisco Kid Diver, we picked up antiquing in Oklahoma. Great start to the series! Gear Used: Shimano Reel 17 Scorpion BFS XG Right https://amzn.to/3K6KwFV BPS Micro Lite Rod: https://bassproshops.vzck.net/RyLezv Cisco Kid Diver 1300

Starting two new series based on the antiquing finds from this weekend! To kickoff things off, here is a brief summary. Do check back for the Vintage Lures and Vintage Bamboo Fly Rod series! #fishing #flyfishing #antiquing

 How about a quick trip to Lake Glenn for ultralight baitcasting with the Kastking Zephyr BFS reel. Started with an inline spinner but turned out the Rapala Husky Jerk was what Bass wanted!